Experimental
by SkythekidXL
Summary: With the Great Horde War still chugging humanity to a brink of extinction, the Joint Agent Force (the guardians of course) must team up before the Reichstag, Pech Schwarz (Pitch Black) eliminates any hope for humanity's hope and will. They must struggle with gathering any information of Pech's plan before his plan can take effect, devastating humanity. (Zombie War AU)
1. Chapter 1: The War Continues

**Main Cast:**

**This story is a about the struggle of a group of Joint Agent Forces to find and dismantle the Fourth Reich. They must hide under the radar to gain information, fight their way to their deaths, and even struggle the hopes of the team's joint to find one person, the leader and cause of these mutations. All rights reserve to Dreamworks: Rise of the Guardians for the Main Cast below. Enjoy and review please...**

**Immortality Experimental Jackson Ovurlin- American**

_Main Character. Born in December 18th, 1928, Jack is around 80 or so years old, though he resembles more of a teenager than an elder, Jack had matured and entered as an agent for the CIA for decades, aiding the human race by sending relief efforts in parts of desolated Europe and Africa._

**Reichstag Pech Schwarz- German Pitch Black**

_Being the leader of the new Fourth Reich, Pech Schwarz viciously would do anything to reclaim Europe as his own._

**Soviet Ministry of National Air Defense Nikolaya Sankt Severnoy**_**- Russian Nicholas Saint North**_

_Master of Air Tactics and Air Defenses and has experiences with dog fights, the Soviet pilot would do anything to restore national order and defense from the Horde and even cooperate with the Americans. He has his own plain called 'The Sleigh' which is his Sukhoi Su-15 (Flagon) used since the late 1970s. Mr. Severnoy was the second person to admit his hopeful glee to Jack's presence, despite Aster's disagreement. In his free time, Severnoy would usually build and design weapons for the group._

**Indian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ṭūtha Phēyarī- Hindi Tooth Fairy**

_Working with corporations and secret agents around the world, especially with the CIA, Ms. Ṭūtha Phēyarī have secret eyes everywhere and can keep track in organizing events and operation missions. She's very useful in espionage missions/ recon scope missions for she has many GPS tracking devices, secret cameras, or agents to follow her._

**Ethiopian Secretary of Defense Sanderson Maahkzooni- White Ethiopian**

_Being friends with the US, Sanderson quickly gain a foothold into keeping aid supplies relief funds spread out across the remnants of East Africa and human communities scattered throughout the area. He's been working tirelessly to spread as many aid as possible throughout Africa._

**Australian Ministry of Ground Defense Aster Munderson- Australian**

_Fear of heights throughout his years, Aster preferred to kill the Horde straight on, by all means by ground. Artillery and ranged attacks are his best forte and using his Sniper is his best weapon sort of speak._

**United Nation Secretary General Manny Moon- American**

_Manny maybe too old for war, but if it goes off to the extinction of humanity, he's going to release all he's got. Manny had hope for Jack that he would turn off to be the kind of hope to destroy the last of the Horde once and for all._

...

It was hell on Earth, these masses of the undead where a living burden to humanity all thanks to them. Though their intentions were not exactly like this, they were the cause of humanity's last struggle. It was they who set this up for all of this. Because of them, nothing would ever be the same...

It was the end of the Second World War with the Allies coming out as a victor as expected. January 5th, 1945. Adolf Hitler was at the brink of surrender. The Allied forces were coming in, nearly bombarding the last remnants of the Third Reich. Hitler and a team of scientist were forced to compel into secret hiding, trying to find a way to turn the tables around and bring the Allies down. The Nazi reign was not only famous of the war efforts and the holocaust, but its secret scientific experiments. Special expeditionary divisions of the Reich were often sent out to find artifacts, or locations of paranormal sightings or religious significance. In German borders, castles were lifted with dungeons and secret passages for secret government experiments, labyrinths with strange notes and traps, an mansions with hidden highways and secret rooms for experiments to have taken place. Whenever the Allies found these ominous places, they were often gutted, burned and destroyed and abandoned. Whenever a lab was left intact, the indigenous researchers were either missing or found dead and the data were soon destroyed by the Allies to prevent any Nazis from recalling any lost pieces of datas. Since then, a lot of Nazi experiments were kept under radar, hidden from venturing Allied forces or civilians. Exactly the true power is often up to debate but it appears that this is often described in Nazi research as "Immortality", undeath, invincibility or other factors surrounding losing the capacity to die in some way or another. The larger part of this research was actually legitimately based; certain doses of chemical compounds to aid blood flow in aging people. Other missing pieces of these research was unimaginable unexplainable. The introductory folders and proofs of concept of the research begin with the principle that the brain controls the body completely and wholly, and, as the body slowly degrades around it, it continues to function. Further statements say that the reason the body is left to degrade is because the human brain is "Set on a biological timer" such is why butterflies can only live a day, yet other insects can often last longer: the brain tells us to die. It is proposed that, as the brain grows, it begins to make connections, resulting in the human becoming more mature and having an advancing brain. At the age of 35-50, however, these connections slowly break down, resulting in forgetfulness, dementia and other mental diseases reserved for the elderly. The Nazi scientists proposed that the brain has a "Universal Kill Switch" that activates as soon as the brain has fully developed. In all normal humans, this killswitch will initiate a shutdown sequence in bodily functions, which occurs over several decades. As soon as the body is fully shut down, the brain will be forced to die through lack of oxygenated blood. It is said that Werner's Syndrome (a disease where a person ages rapidly) is a result of the Killswitch function activating far too early. The Nazi's assumption was that if the Killswitch was somehow dislodge or disseminated, the brain can no longer release the shutdown of the body functions resulting in what would say 'immortality'. To be able to live forever was one of their extremely well thought experiments. The research in immortality was soon moved to an underground facility near Stuttgart to continue its research without the divulgement of the German population and the advancement of the Allies in the borders of the Third Reich. Because the elderly had assumption that they already have activated the killswitch, the Nazis wanted children, young and still growing with brains that have not activated this so called 'Kill Switch'. These children were brought from Japan into the secret lairs of the German experiments. The Japanese children were experimented heavily undetected and inalienable from the Third Reich's reach.

During these experiments, the children suffered what is known as down syndrome after these heavy experiments and a lost of many limbs and body parts. They may seem dead, but these children have life functions that are proper to that of a normal human being. After a few hours these children seemed to lose even more intelligence and as a result, having to be deceitfully experimented for immortality research and development. The fraudulent scientist have noted that these children have been turning 'grey' and unable to speak, eat, or drink, or even sleep as a normal being. These children seemed even more inhuman as these children have to be taken into heavy guard when a red-haired nine year old have bitten a scientist during their daily experiments...

Unknown from the scientists, these children were transforming into mindless beings and because of the bite, the infection spread. These people are not necessarily dead, but mindless, emotionless automatons that can only process one objective: the need to feed. These children may be considered 'dead' because once the infection reached their brains, the victim's heart rate nearly drops to a near stop, their breathing pattern would decrease severely, and their internal body temperature nearly dropped to a near atmospheric level. Because of this, many considered these automatonic zombies as dead. Their memories had nearly diminished and their body functions nearly reduced. The victim's upper brain functions were completely demolished leaving the lower brain functions such as feeding, walking, and breathing in control of the body. The body was not necessarily dead, but a near-death coma, much as the victim entered a state of hallucinogenic. The victim's mutation effect in its brain function can lead to a term called, 'zombification'. Unlike fiction movies and literature, the infection can only spread if the victim was already alive or at least dead for less than 48 hours unless the brain can no longer cope with the virus and the body shuts down completely. This infection is similar to the now zombification process in Haiti where Bokor tribes drug innocent victims to assume them to a near death-stage with no memories and create a mindless slave which may refer as zombification. The infection however instead of the victim being drug, the infection spreads further into the body's fluids such as the saliva or blood so the infection can spread through the bite or cut of the victim once exposed. Unlike fictional zombies, the victim can die but the effects of the infection such as the effect of the Zombie Drug and Zombie Cucumber in Haiti can inflict most pain the victim receives. And because of the experiments, these mindless, automatonic zombies can only be killed at the heart of the infection: the reduced brain or the slow beating heart.

First, the infection spread across the experimental room with most of the original scientists feeling ill and unable to function properly. Because of this, the project completely ceased, and now mindless automatonic 'zombies' roam the area. The infection sooned spread to the public. Since the dungeon was a few miles outside the city of Stuttgart, the undead Horde continued to spread. The first outbreak was at the Marktplatz between Marktstr. Hitler quickly set up a quarantine organization and began to set up immunization camps all over the city of Stuttgart. Outbreaks soon sparked up all around Stuttgart, Munich, and Nuremberg leaving the Third Reich in chaos and panic. Radio stations spread panic in Germany but Hitler and the Nazi Party completely shut down the media in order to keep the Reich sane. Most of these outbreaks occur through the spread of touch, saliva, blood, food, and water distributions in Germany. It was concluded that five of the scientist was never found or recorded to be infected.

In Stuttgart, the streets west of Hauptstatter Str, Konrad-Adenauer-Str, and Willy-Brandt-Str are quarantined using Hitler's strong-armed guards that were first, guarding Hitler's secret meetings with the National Socialist German Worker's party, now created man-made barriers to evacuate the major cities similar to the fate in Stuttgart. The Third Reich completely disregard any information to the Allied Forces so Hitler may looked like he had the situation under control. The distribution of trade in Germany ceased and once the Allied forces reached Berlin in April 1945, the panic begins.

The Russians made it to Berlin first, now shock to see these so called, 'mindless creatures' walking around the streets of downtown Berlin. With the Allied forces closing in, these mindless creatures began to take notice and now began to take hold against the Allied forces with thousands of the infected now streaming out of the nation. Allied and Soviet forces were pushed back as these mindless zombies kept sprawling up around Europe starting with Eastern France, Denmark, Prague, Austria, Northern Italy, and Prussia. These outbreaks continue to spread through trade distribution around Europe. The Horde of these automatons continue to spread the disease in much of central Europe during the rest of 1945. After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese surrender, the Allies are now faced with the millions of automatons growing in numbers in Europe. The disaster turned to the extreme as the poor third world countries in Africa were beginning to experience outbreaks mainly from illegal trade through the Mediterranean Sea and/or other sources.

In the start of 1946, the United States began to enforce the Atlantic and the Pacific Quarantine, hoping a full scale military naval blockade on a maritime frontier along the 30 and 175 degrees longitude west to be constantly patrolled by the military and navy to shoot on sight if it is not human. The US began sending evacuation submarines for its Allies: remnants of Vichy France, Britain, and Ireland for immediate evacuations to the American soil. Most trade would be inter-American in the New World. Travel, tourism, and investment would all be made in the bi-continental New World despite the Supreme Court's rebuttal that the move was 'unconstitutional'. The US still remain an influence in other parts of the world and created a new establishment in Japan and the Philippines in case the outbreak spread across Asia. Formosa was established as an evacuation center by the United States in case needed. The Soviet Union fair to differ as the Horde outbreaks began to appear in Novgorod, Stalingrad, and Moscow. In the midst of 1946, the Soviet Union created the Ural Wall. The government relocated east of the Urals as the outbreaks continue to spread. The government relocated in a bunker in Vladivostok while Stalin ordered the establishment of the wall, a massive defensive perimeter covering the Urals using the Red Army's armed barrier and would allow no surrender despite the inadvertence of the sheer numbers of the Horde. The Scandinavian nations, aided by the Allies, were able to keep the Horde off the North Sea, but internal outbreaks continue to break out. With much of Europe affected, Africa and the Muslim World isn't differing the same. With the struggles of the third world nations, the African continent was quickly overrun. With quick efforts, the United States was able to create small human communities around the Northern Saharan regions, the Southern African regions, and small human quarantined in West Africa. Massive amounts of people tried to flee the Horde to reach Britain but due to fears of the spread, many of these initial refugee ships were ordered to be terminated by the Royal Navy, a move that has condemned the British government for years to come. But despite the British rejection for any refugees, the Americans were able to accept the refugees but with advance immunization taking large amounts of time for testing and diagnostics in case of the spread but most were able to enter the United States looking alive and well.

The dawn of 1947 wasn't as brutal as last year, but the spread of the infection continued to spread. The British created the so called 'Iron Lion' in Scotland when news spread of an outbreak in Belfast and London. Many have already schedule evacuations to the United States as these outbreaks began to appear in India and the Chinese Republic. Projects around the world, aided by the United States, issued the Patriot Insurrection stance which issued a plan that required multiple segments of the Allied forces all destine for one destination. With multiple targets, the Horde would be easier to kill and the numbers decrease. Slowly, the Allied made a staggering checkpoint off the coast of Marseille at what once was France. European governments have all too collapsed, in dissolution, or hidden underground but made contact with the Soviets and the Allies. The Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, and French government had all too collapsed leaving the surviving civilians fighting for themselves. The Third Reich had all too collapsed and now is completely at the heartland of the Horde.

Over the course of the late 1940s and so forth, the Horde had now mutated and developed a more armoured skin with a seemingly mimic language. Most of the automatons that were captured had an implanted sirem that gave control to these creatures with the use of low radar to the spinal cord and the brain. These technology often mimic the ones of the Germans, but was neglected since the Germans had been disbanded. But controversies of the missing original five scientist that help created the virus had been accused of it. Theories rose and an airlift investigation was made upon the American investigation in and near what was once Stuttgart and now an apocalyptic wasteland city that once filled with bustling people.

During the investigation, a team of American scientist lead by Dr. James Devanchi, and a large defensive Armed troops stationed just outside of city hall to investigate any signs of the five missing scientists. They were never found but Dr. Devanchi had stumbled upon pieces of notes and papers of the original Nazi plan for immortality. Inspite of curiosity, the doctor brought it with him, revised some parts and tested them in a lab in Hawaii with a group of children. Surprisingly, only one survived the operation, me. Jackson Ovurlin. I was the only one to cope to the extreme measures of those experiments without turning into one of those Hordes. I turned immortal because of it, I can't age, die, or grow old I stayed young as sixteen forever. I was a volunteer for them, in exchange for money for my poor family.

As the years followed, it turned out that I am the only one to survive it, and none of the volunteered children survived and the operations were cancelled by 1952. The Allies manage to stop the advancements of the Hordes using fortifications around the Eastern Hemisphere such as the Himalayan barrier, Deccan base, South African community military base, Scotland base, Scandinavian barrier, Ural wall, and other fortifications and bases. In 1962, with the greater influence in the Latin nations by the American protection and investments, the Latin nations, Canada, and Brazil signed the American Annexation Treaty in July 7th to cope with the crippling economies and political powers of the Latino, Canadian, and Brazilian world. The republic nation quickly expanded the entire New World creating a bi-continental democratic constitutional republic. The expanded United States expanded the Capitol Building to fill in the massive numbers of Senators and Congressmen. New states were drawn up and with the new Modernization Act passed, many of the unemployed were given jobs to Americanized each annexed region with suburbs, cities, skyscrapers, highways, roads, electricity, water, agriculture, and other usages. Unemployment dropped and fear of any outbreaks ceased in the US. As for the rest of the world, recovery centers and advancement slowly aided the remnants of Eastern civilization. The Old World was nearly destroyed and Reconstruction was needed. Japan and the Philippines are merely puppets for evacuation and military launch points for the United States. The Soviet Union, greatly reduced and weakened and no longer a superpower at its wake, still stood East of the Urals for so many decades and show no sign of surrender. The Chinese and the Indians with the aid of the Americans, slowly advance out of their safe zones, killing every bit of the Horde as they can. The small tribal communities, with the aid of the Allies, worked together to bring forth the once was Africa. Surviving Islamic nations, slowly rise giving new governments and communities hope. New small and surviving independent nations rise after the midst of their once was Old World. New hope for the Old World slowly endowed forth, helping humanity finally put out the last stance against these automatonic corpses.

The year is 2012, almost seventy years prior to the creation of the Horde virus. The Horde continue to frolic outside the safe zones being further mutated by these five mysterious scientists and their Nazi organization probably hiding beneath Germany as I speak. I worked with the CIA and the government to helped exterminate the Horde before the mutations have gotten out of hand. I must use my inhuman abilities to put an end of the Great Horde War before the mutations overrun us. I must show no mercy to whoever kept mutating these corpses and find this son of a bitch before I let this man overtake humanity to its knees.


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue Mission

Jackson Ovurlin

December 15, 2012; 1315 hours

Northern Paris, Old French Lands

I walked in the middle of the apocalyptic desolated Paris. It's been nuked so many times, the city had been leveled completely. The Eiffel Tower barely recognizable. I stared upon the streets of Paris gazing down, holding up my Carbine-15 on my hands. With the radiation so dense from the nukes, not a living soul can live here in this rotten city of love, except me. That's why I was sent here, to search for any more surviving Hordes and kill to shoot. I finalized a quick route to an apartment adjacent to me. I am alone in this desolate wasteland that was once was Paris long ago.

Sharpening my eyes, I could see a large abandoned building with a rusted sign saying, 'Villette'. The area was filled with trash, plastic bags, newspapers, purses, and other products abandoned so long ago. This region was a few miles away from Target Zero and One, the missiles that hit much of southern Paris. The building's first few floors were completely topped, with a large number of debris piled up everywhere. The feeling of being hunted invigorated my sense to detect the highest branch, the seasoning of food, a footfall miles away; it's a bit of a side effect from the 40's experiments. The feeling of the retrograded flow of the wind sparked my senses to see and hear beyond. One can explain such of a hunter, he or she can sense the involuntary movement of the prey even without much data. Let it not be such a difficult comprehension that to say that I am merely predatory.

I walked to the vicinity of the desolated and demolished 'Villette' structure, mentally noting any suspicious sightings from behind my eyes. Being apparently occupied in thought of any dangers, I was supposedly struck with a stuttering noise peering at the back of my head. I quickly turned my head, only to find just a spark of the breeze, taking a stroll along the radiated and polluted atmosphere. All at once, I broke forth with occupied senses peering through my brain of any dangers. I quickly shook my head, telling to myself that it was just my paranoia; from decades of being young while others age around me. My assertions of dangers slowly dissipated and I continued my search throughout the dirty structures of Villette. I gazed upon the now diminutive infrastructure, of what once bustling with busy and candid civilians; such happy times. Strolling amongst the cracked sidewalks, I neared the path toward the entrance of the building. I prepared for any attack, hanging my gun across my arm, letting my finger slither around the trigger, pointing at the door. I slowly pushed the rusted door with my left free hand, making almost no sound. Once the door was widened to a point where I could pierced my head into the room, I quickly did so, slowly inhaling to a point of no sound. My rencontre with the internal structure was a bit unpleasant. The lobby was completely desolated and seemed as if diminished by war. The room's wooden floor tiles were all scattered with debris and parts of the second floor had collapsed. Large vines hang out everywhere and grass and vegetation littered the lobby like Jumanji. Vines and small bushy plants filled the inner front walls while the lights remained stationed, unable to produce lights. I was a bit displeased with the foul smell of pilings all around as well as the horrible sighting of the lobby, such a disaster this city had turned out to be. I quickly buckled myself inside, a bit disturbed but yet alert.

I quickly searched around visually, finding any place to gather some supplies, if any, and then leave. I've heard of haunted houses over the decades but this was just extraordinary, so...desolated. I felt the cold chilling air, running through me as if the calls of the lost souls whispered between my ears, biting my sanity. My prominent sagacity of this place as being haunted was quickly overturned with a slow pumping of my heart. My soul aroused with the fear of being hunted, of being frightened by these lost souls of the dead. My heart pounded heavily, distorting any sounds the wind makes, as if it can speak. The wind subsided, as if mourned by the fear in my blue eyes or as if the souls left to their petty afterlife. I slowly made my first step inside this lobby, slowly making a creaking sound similar to a honking noise of a fire truck. The noise was loud enough to be heard around this crumbling structure. I held my exhale, hoping to be still as possible to not attract any Hordes stranded around here.

"Who's there?" A feminine adult voice was heard not a few rooms to far. My heart pounded with a confused statement buzzing inside my head, clouding my senses. I kept quite still again, saying no words or response to my presence. I kept my eyes shut, breathing as slowly as possible without passing into a state of unconsciousness. I heard a slight groan-a groan of fear, pain, or at least...grief. Oh God! It was a sign of a grievant soul aroused from the bottom of that girl, her soul fearing to leave the body, afraid of death. As if Death approached, stalking her at this very moment, afraid but she was holding it in. I slowly shuffled closer to the sound of the voice, finding myself in another room, a vegetated filled restaurant. I heard a mere groan again, a tear broke inside my heart. I pitied her, as I admit, yet my heart felt something more, as I if I truly cared this stranger that I've never met her face to face yet. I quickly occupied my thoughts with a bunch of suppositions that the woman would be alright. But my mind knows that uncertainty is quite assured of it. My fears slowly grew to be a slight panic inside. I needed a reassurance that she was actually alright. I quickly followed another set of moans and tears of fear. Her soul must've ache with so much afflicted pain, it's been so long here that Paris would've been a forgotten city. Her mournful influence drove me past the restaurant, constantly searching every bit of crack and hiding place for her to be. No presence in the room could ever block the sense of her far, with her fear as being so strong, it influenced me to search for her vigorously. The dull dark restaurant was unclear for me, leaving to mere zero visibility, a few dozen feet at most. I tensed my lip, uneased by the tension inside my throbbing heart. My mind raced to find this stranger, but no mere sound made a peep to guide me to her, yet.

A cold screamed yanked me forward to the back of the restaurant where part of this wall had long to collapsed. I refrained to keep still, while I scarcely breathe. I held my gun up front against my chest. To my left, I saw a large barricade made of wooden planks, chairs, and tables. The barricade seemed to block the entrance to another dark ominous room. It must have been fairly made new, which means someone was here earlier, and that same feminine voice must've made this barricade. I only cursed myself that my assumption could only be as true as I say. I slowly walked towards the barricade, making slow creaking steps. The ceiling was filled with holes so droplets of water from past rainfall echoed the room like cave. The eerie noise only added the creepy effects of this abandoned restaurant. The chairs and tables, all rotten and destroyed from over 70 years without maintenance and water and vegetation slowly ripping the wooden shards apart. The velvet rug below me, ripped and shredded and dirtied from so long of exposure to the environment, looked a bit as if it had footprints, well shoe prints...and large ones, like boots. Sunlight shone through the holes of the vines and cracks of the walls, letting the room reveal its state of corrosion and deterioration.

I ponder about the feminine voice as I searched the barricade. A water bottle, half-filled; an anti-radiation helmet with a the old French flag except it has a sword on it, a large bag of canteen food; these were found just at the vicinity of the barrier. Someone is here, or at least was here. Whoever the person maybe, she left her radiation helmet, without it, a mortal would die within hours as the radiation penetrated her skin, boiling her flesh and causing great damage to skin cells and the immune system. I grabbed the supplies and zipped them inside my rucksack I found earlier this morning. Since I've heard her voice, she must've not been to far off, at least in this building for the most part. Ostentatiously, I headed off pass the barrier and further into the dark ominous room. I quickly grabbed my flashlight and flickered it on, revealing the room to be the 'Grand Ball' room with the w.c. to my left. I motioned my flashlight high up, revealing a large, still dangling, chandelier with vines hanging out of it. The ceiling didn't fared much differ than the ceiling from the restaurant, filled with cracks and holes and rampaged by vegetation. To my right is another wooden door, but was boarded down so I couldn't get in. I walked forward through the desolate wasteland of the ballroom. This reminds me of the time I ventured through Holland in St. Nicholas Day (December 6). I nearly got trapped by the Hordes in this haunted-looking castle. Not to be meticulous, but the ballroom looked a lot more eerie, dark, and dangerous all of a sudden. As if I was being stared at, the room was...creepy. It's like a feeling in your gut, a sixth sense sort of speak, that you felt eyes wandering around, peering through your soul and eating away suspicion. It felt creepy in here.

Then, as if on cue, I heard a moan, a larger sound emission than before. The sound came from the far right corner of the room. I gazed my flashlight to the corner leaving a small woman with blonde hair. She's about the size to my chest while her hair was about as long as her back. From the neck down, she was wearing the radiation suit which means she was the one who set up the barricade back at the restaurant. I quickly noticed her panting, her heart beat as fast and as loud as a of a dragon. Her skin, already boiling, endowed blood and skin rash everywhere. The radiation is already boiling through her skin, eating away the immune system as I speak. She was half-conscious, her eyes half open. She was about to die. As if on instinct, I quickly grabbed the helmet from my rucksack and put her helmet upon her head, and then turning the suit on, filtering any radiation inside the suit. Her insufferableness may no longer continue, because I've save her.

"You okay. Es macht nichts, I'm here," I quickly said after seeing her eyelids regenerate its livelihood. Her expression through her suit was still pain, but she was recovering. Her nod comforted me and I quickly crouched down next to her sitting position.

"I'm fine," she inhaled as she regenerate her breath pace. She must've been suffering for a long time. "I think I just need some medical aid," she quickly swing her head to her left to find her eyes gazing at mines, she quickly tilted her head in confusion.

"Y-you're just a kid, aren't ya?" she bit her cracked lip, regaining her consciousness, "...and...you're not wearing your suit."

"I don't need one," I sighed letting my eyes wander to the flash of my tilted flashlight, gazing at a mural from the other side of the room.

"W-what are you talking about?" her expression and tone was clearly confusion but a bit of fear aroused inside her tone.

"I was an experiment from the US government. Now, I work for them, but because of them, I can't age or die at all. It's been like this for over 80 years."

Her eyes enlarged in bewilderment, "80 years! God, you're old..." after a clear moment of silence, she quickly broke out the bystander effect, "How come I haven't heard about this, I was supposed to know everything that's going on." I didn't get to answer that question since I was still in my inner thought for awhile. She stared at me and then tapped my shoulder in which I snapped out. "Hey, kid, how did ya get here?" was the first words I've heard clearly.

"Extermination mission, what about you, and how did you get the helmet off?" I tilted my head in confusion and raised my eyebrow. She only gazed up high to the dark ominous ceiling. She began to speak with her deep-feminine and soundly French accent.

"Well...there was these two Hordes after me. I didn't have time to gather my supplies and I accidently dropped my helmet. I hid here for like thirty minutes, complaining to myself. Once I heard their footsteps leave, I suddenly was amazed to hear another set of footsteps which was yours kid. I didn't have a weapon, so I hid in the shadows here," she sighed as if relief to find someone who has a weapon. I set my gun down on the floor, feeling exhausted, too.

"So...are we just gonna stay here?" I asked, muttering out the last few words, loud and clearly.

"Since you have a weapon, we could venture out and gather more supplies before the two Hordes found out we snuck out." We both nodded and proceeded to standing up and stretching our backs. I helped the girl to stand up with all her blisters and burns all round her face and skin. Once, she nearly fell on me, she really does need medical aid. I mentally noted to get a medical kit when we searched out.

"Kid...I feel...a little," she half-blinked and put her hand over her forehead. I quickly yanked her into consciousness and she bellowed with pain, "It's so painful to move any muscle...a-ow!"

"You, okay?" I asked, a little sheepishly.

"No, I feel like I've been whipped throughout my entire body. It...hurts so badly," she closed her eyes in pain as she stood as still as possible in her standing position. We both lingered throughout the ballroom, in which I've to drag the girl around my shoulders with her screaming or groaning in pain every thirty seconds. I lay my hands around her waist as she descend upon my shoulders. I futilely tried to drag the woman with me without causing much pain on my shoulder and herself from all of those burns. I steadily aimed the flashlight forward. Through my vantage point of view, I could see the large ballroom leading off to a large hallway filled with cracked ceramic windows, the once idealistic paintings on the ceiling cracked and vegetated, and the tiled floors ripped off by mother nature herself. The grand hall must've been high maintenance when it still held ball dances, but now it barely stood still as I walked towards the direction of the hallway with the girl on my back.

"Please, slow down," the girl teared a little as she clenched her fist behind my arm in pain and grabbed my elbow as she endured it. Her burns are touching against my body, fueling her nervous sense with pain. I only tapped her clenched fist and reassured her I will call help.

I dragged both our exhausted bodies through the eerie desolate hallways, peering my flashlight everywhere to subjugate my superstitions. This place is so vegetated and destroyed it felt even more creepy than a haunted house. And since this is known to have dead souls since the creation of the Horde virus, it may as well be haunted. We crept smacked in through the middle of the long, used to be elegant hallway, staring forward at the light from the flashlight. Through the hallway walls was a seemingly long row of doors, boarded down with wooden plans as if to let no one in, or out. I felt a slight shiver between my spinal cord, trying to deemed the haunted hallway story out of my head. I felt the girl's breath heavy inhale as she slowly lose her pace.

After a dead fifteen minutes, I dragged both our bodies near the end of the hallway with at least one door in front of us that isn't boarded up. I quickly grabbed hold of the knob and turned it but find myself unable to turn the knob. I shook the knob only to realize it was lock.

"Damn it! What the hell are we gonna do now?" I bellowed in frustration letting the girl stand on her own, though still in pain.

"Ow..." the girl stretched her arms, still feeling the burns, "...try ramming it with your body."

I did what I was told but the door wouldn't budge, still locked at it is. As if on cue, we both froze as a moaning, and dead, noise came from behind us. We froze right where we left off, unable to even breathe properly as we listened to the bone creaking, body dragging moans. We both know the only death moans that could've made, the Hordes. We both whimpered in fear as those moans grew closer and closer, slowly sinking into our brain that we will be dead, well, she would be.

I was the first to react soon before the Horde was visible to our naked eyes from the light of the cracked windows. I quickly grabbed my Carbine out of my satchel and aimed it at the dark hallway ahead of us. We were trapped. All of the doors are either boarded up or locked and I only have a few bullets left in here.

"Don't shoot, you'll, eh-, attract some more," she scarcely muttered those words out with her stiff and bruised muscles going against her mind. She looked awfully in pain from the burns. I only nodded back, scared out of my life to say something back. I finally had enough courage to whisper something back as the moans grew louder.

"What do we do, now?"

"Just...give me your gun, I've got a plan," I stared at the girl, apparently disappointed. She was in pain from the burns, what'll she do with my gun? I got my answer after the two Horde was quickly visible within our visibility range. The girl quickly threw my gun and landed on the taller Horde's forehead, bopping onto the smaller one's head, while the gun rapidly landed somewhere further into the dark hallway onto the floor. The girl quickly ran around the confused Hordes, grabbing my elbow, even though she seemed so much in pain. She looked as if she's trying her best enduring her insufferable burns while she swiftly ran around the Hordes. I aimed my flashlight everywhere and quickly finding my gun which had landed briefly onto a pile of bushes that had somehow formed inside the hallway. Letting go of my hand, she let me grabbed my weapon. As I stuffed my gun back on my pocket, she motioned her head to aim the flashlight over to the nearest door, which was boarded up. I guess she wanted me to break it with my gun or something.

"Destroy it, it's the only escape plan I've got," she whispered, sweat glistening through her suit.

"What if I can't get these wooden planks off, we'll be dead. Do you have another plan, a plan B?" I widened my eyes for any quick responses. She just viciously stared back at me and motioned me to go take out the planks. I just sighed and use my gun to slam through the nails, which buckled and screeched as I pull and slam my gun into it. Once I've gotten through most of them, the girl helped me pull out the last of the boards, even though her body seemed it was not in the mood to do it. She barely held her breath, still too sore to even say anything to me as I kicked the door wide open. We both ran after I locked the door from the inside out. Those Hordes could never get us now!

Once we slammed our bodies inside, I quickly flashed my flashlight to and fro, trying to get a good sense to what kind of room it is. The room is very large, almost as if the ceiling from the heavens were about to collapsed. The wooden columns that supported the ceiling are all about to buckle and release the pressure of tons of wood and cement onto us. The room was filled with picnic tables and chairs. The tables were left with plastic trays just sitting there, gaining mold and bugs along the way. A counter to my left tells me it was food counter, where people could collect food and stuffed them onto their trays. Based on my observations, this large room was actually a cafeteria.

"Where are we?" the girl to my right asked, still looking dumbfounded to the scenery of vegetation intermixing with man-made structures around us.

"I guess, the cafeteria. But I wouldn't recommend trying out any of the food. They are long expired," I snickered, sending my flashlight towards the food counter filled with flies encircling the remnants of the rotten food and meat. I only saw the girl roll her eyes.

I broke the silence by complimenting her, "Nice plan, since when did you've become all leadership like that?" I expected a response but she only stared intensely at the food court, probably still in thought of her subconscious.

"We've got to go," she hissed and back at my face intensely with great concern. She no longer felt the pain on her burns, but the pain...of something else...something dark she's trying to oppressed.

She followed me as I aim the flashlight recklessly towards the back door which would lead outside to the dumpster. As I open the back door, the girl tapped my shoulder, and held it there for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked, but felt the need to regret my decision on asking that question.

"Just...watch out, she bit her lip, obviously hiding something.

I quickly snapped, holding her elbow, "Okay something's up."

She only sighed, "Sorry, I lost my brother yesterday, and now I can't find him. I've search the entire northern Parisian area, but he's nowhere to be found."

I've only got one question to ask her after her tragic story, "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm a scout for the French Resistance. Me and my brother often were sent to kill any wandering Hordes after the bombs fell."

I only tilted my head in confusion, "French Resistance?"

"Yeah, a few scattered surviving underground tribes along the Northern coast of France are joining up to reform the new France, and restore the French culture. We were supposed to be a secret until we reformed but I guessed I could trust you, right?"

"Yeah, I'm trustable. Besides, the only thing I do is go on missions. It's not like I have much of a social life to talk to," I smiled leading the girl out of the door and into the radiant outside view of the fallen structures.

"What's your name, mine's Jackson."

****"Mine's Sophia. Sophia Bennett," she said wiping her burns off of her arms and legs and trying to feel more comfortable. 


	3. Chapter 3: Found Yet Trapped

3

Jackson Ovurlin

December 15, 2012; 1630 hours

Northern Paris, Northern French Resistance Lands

We followed the setting sun after I called in a helicopter through my walkie talkie. Sophia insisted in leaving me after tomorrow's dusk. I didn't object, but she said we could keep in touch, if she had a cell phone at all. We are now sitting side by side at a porch of some abandoned apartment, sitting next to a fire I made using a match and some wooden planks.

"What's like in the French Resistance. Is it like a tribe underground or a bustling surviving city..." I trailed off, letting her answer my question.

"Jamier and I live, like most of the Resistance, outside of abandoned cities. We live 2 miles off of Paris, somewhere north passed those hills. The radiation didn't reach our place, so we were able to live and train as scouts. Most of the people live underground, sending scouts to pass on messages and kill the remnants of the Horde still wandering out.

Most of our leftover society is under the leadership of President Deuvien Van Rhoette. He claims the northern survivals of France. He promised to rebuild French society and be found but that was twenty years ago, now we barely even prayed if it might come true. We've been starving for so long. Our people is suffering, and we need help. We were going to get found once we rebuild our civilization, but we are on desperate terms. We need fresh locally grown food, and we are just rationing the last of our stockpile. They're sending scouts like us to find some food and fresh water outside of our territory. My brother and I were sent to kill off the remaining Horde, but after that, we were supposed to go out with the other scouts to the Spanish or German old lands to find food and water. I lost my brother when we were separated by these two Hordes. I gave my weapon to my brother, but now I'm not so sure if he's even alive anymore..." I stared down at her with sympathy. She had lost her home, her life, even her her brother. I handed her a granola bar from my rucksack, I've only guessed she needed more than me.

As she nibbled onto the granola bar, I sprang forth, roasting the canteen and using the water from the water bottle and put it over the fire for the water to boil. She's all dirty now. A few hours ago, I've found a medical kit and treated her burns, now, she's healing but still a little bit in pain. I've set my body near the fire, feeling the warmth radiating out of the flame as I continue to roast our dinner.

"The helicopter would arrived tomorrow. There was some trouble elsewhere that was more important than me," I said, still staring thoughtfully at the fire.

"Do you ever feel alone, sometimes?" Sophia sighed, coughing out her breath.

I stared at her, wondering why would she say that, but words began slipping out of my lips, "Well, yeah. But don't you have your brother with you?"

"Yeah, but. I just wish I could have a normal life. I grew up having to fend off with my own and with my brother. My parents died with the last of the Horde in Tours. The bombs fell and my parents died to saved us. It was hard, but we grew up."

"I'm...so sorry, for that."

"Don't sweat it, kid. The past is the past. Now, let's get some more food to fill us, huh?" Sophie patted my back and stood up, swallowing the last of the granola bar down her throat. I stood up, too, feeling sympathetic to her situation. She had endured the loss of her parents for years, and she had been living through all this time. I looked down at my feet, staring at the thought of her lost. She lost her parents, and she's determined not to lose her brother, too. I stood up and walked beside to where Sophia was standing, looking out at the view of the destruction of the city through the half eaten wall. Most of the debris around me had filled the room up to my shins. From my vantage point of view, the city was in ruins, many buildings were topped or completely destroyed, vegetation seeped through the cracks and walls of most of the infrastructures. To the south, the Eiffel Tower, topped and filled with vines and vegetation, more or less about to collapsed at any minute. I could see the Arch of Triumph from the distance, most of the stone structure collapsed into rubble. The streets down from my position buckled against the growing vegetation and debris filling the streets like a tsunami. A large whirlpool of dust and debris swept across the far east as the radiation swept through the city. I looked to my left, Sophia was still wearing her suit, which told me she'll be fine, for now. I walked to her as she crawled to a sitting position, aiming her eyes at the sun, nearly setting down at the distance. I only sat adjacent to her, watching the sun setting at the distance, the clouds and the sky pinking to a shade of red and blue. The wind in the distance drizzle with dust and smoke. Fires from the west side of my viewpoint endowed a fire storm, raging across the buildings, burning away human existence using the vegetation and the heat as fuel. The wind rustled against my hair as I aim my hand nears hers. I quickly pulled back, afraid of something. I closed my fist against my chest, feeling regret of my move. Sophia turned her head to the east, watching a group of Horde, about twenty, walking aimlessly at different directions. I quickly reassured my jaw and spoke.

"Do...do you think, we should go outside, like it's safe, or something," I turned to the direction of the group of Horde.

"Yeah, I supposed, if we have enough distance away from them," Sophia mumbled, gazing at the group intensely. I watched Sophia stood up, as so did I.

"We've got to go before sunset. And fast," Sophia stood near the fire.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll get my gun, you could meet me outside," I watched Sophia grabbed her knapsack and left out the door. I sighed walking to the right corner of the room, grabbing my backpack and gun and left the door, also, feeling the rush of the wind brush me as I closed the door. Tomorrow, I'm leaving, but I can't leave Sophia. She's still looking for her brother. I sighed, leaving the door partly closed. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll decide.

I walked down the hall. I slashed my backpack around my shoulders and holding my gun against my chest. Walking legitimately close to the walls, I held my eyes ahead. I

"Hey, kid. There's a Horde downstairs," Sophia said in the distance. I made a left turn from the hallways and found myself walking down the stairs. I watched silently through the dark as I heard moans and gurgles through the darkness. If there was hell on Earth, this was the place. I thought of any plan on removing the Horde, but I can't shoot it. The group of Horde outside could hear it, and would most likely find us. If the French somehow survived this ordeal, they would most likely be in this situation everyday. How did the French Resistance live like this. To be in alert everyday, knowing death and destruction is everywhere and every time you step on this desolate place. I made my way down silently, without much sound from my footfalls. I kept a lookout through the darkness ahead, peering my ears at any sound coming at me. I heard a grizzled footstep near the lobby. This is taking a toll in my senses. I quickly ran into a baseball bat around my left foot. I picked up the bat and held it against my hands. Yes, I could use this bat to knock the Horde away. I held my gasped against this baseball bat while putting my gun behind me.

Suddenly, I felt a grab on my left shoulder and quickly turned around, holding my bat against my body. It was just Sophia's face, putting her index finger against her lip as a sign to shut up. I nodded and we both tiptoed through the dark.

In our surprise, we found ourselves in another room, through a door which was too dark to recognize. I quickly grabbed my flashlight from my pocket and aimed it ahead. Once I flickered the on switch, the light shone ahead, showing the Horde against the counter with his eyes peering at us; red with blood. I nearly whimpered but Sophia was quicker to react. She quickly stole the baseball bat from my grasped and ran off ahead, knocking the Horde's forehead like a pinata. I looked down to find the Horde laying down, unconscious.

"Whoa, that was fast," I broke the silence. Sophia looked at me and smile giving the bat back.

"Be fast, kid. I learned that a long time ago," Sophia smirked.

"You've got a lot of edjamacations about handling this exemplar of quandary," I noted to her while Sophia looked at me suspiciously.

"I'm an adult and even I don't know what you just said," Sophia bit her chapped lip while I chuckled putting my bat against my left shoulder.

"Never mind, let's go out," I motioned my head to the door that lead outside. Sophia nodded and grabbed a knife from the counter. I set my flashlight between my teeth and slid my backpack down the kitchen table, opening the zipper. I quickly put out a map of Paris and slid my baseball bat at a handle of my backpack. I quickly sealed the pack and followed Sophia outside.

As I walked outside, looking at the outside hell this city is. The streets were so calamitous with debris and fires, it was hard to bear. Cars around me were on fire and rusted with vegetation filling the scenery. Grass and moss filled the streets while trees and vines hang down the abandoned infrastructure. Most of the debris around us were already in form of deteriorating. I stepped past Sophia as she held her hand against my chest, motioning her head to the group of Hordes a few blocks to the left. We both crouched to the nearest car, which was already so deteriorated that it was unrecognizable. Sophia motioned her index finger against her lip.

"Shh, we need a plan. Your bat wouldn't get all of those all at once," Sophia whispered. I crouched next to the back trim of the car and spot the nearest Horde struggling to walk near the entrance of a restaurant. The view began to solidify as I noticed the other Hordes seemed to be at least searching for something or someone.

"Why are the Hordes acting like-?" I asked back to Sophia.

"I don't know, but we can't stay here much longer, we'll soon get caught," Sophia interjected before I could open my mouth. I sighed, grabbing my gun behind me.

"We'll, we've got to-" I was interrupted by a grunt behind us. I turned to my left and saw a Horde walking straight at us, dragging his body towards our direction.

"Run!" Was all I could say before I instantly shot it. Sophia grabbed my baseball bat from my handle and ran off past our safe car. I quickly ran off also, being chase by the group of Hordes.

"We need to get out of here," Sophia yelled, instantly grabbing my arm. I nodded, not looking back. We both ran for about a minute through the desolate vegetated streets. I nearly stumbled upon a block of concrete from a collapsed building when Sophia yanked me back up. I squeezed my eyes shut as we ran forward.

"Where are we going?" I asked her but she just stood her eyes forward, unable to move back.

I was quickly struck by a rapid and unexplainable events as we both bumped into a group of men in radiation suits and with guns. The men rushed forward from the windows above us from a two story window. Three men rushed for our aid as we both were grabbed and taken back to a building. The men grabbed my wrist my wrist while a man yanked Sophia's elbow, grabbing us inside the door. We both nudged ourselves inside as the men fought off the Hordes for us. I nearly suffocated as the man in radiation suit grabbed me from the mouth. My mind fills with so many thoughts going at once, my mouth was in a moment of presque vu as words came out as a struggle to breathe. The men dragged us inside while shutting the door closed. The man looked at me intently while I just layed back in perplexity.

"You okay, kid. You don't have your suit," the man with a low masculine voice asked. The man who grabbed me stared at me with a scowl.

"I'm immortal, I can't die.," I snarled back. How dare they just kidnapped us like that?!

"What are you talking about, kid?" the man who yanked me asked, now approaching me with a larger scowl.

"I'm an experiment from the American government, so I can't age, die, or grow old. I'll live forever never catching the virus or having to have wrinkles like the one all over your face," I smirked, crossing both my arms.

"That would explain why you're still alive and your white hair, how old are you exactly," the other guy with a contented face asked.

"About eighty. I was born in 1928, if you must know," a few gasped filled the room, but the guy who grabbed me aimed his gun at me...and pulled the trigger. The other guy grabbed the guy who shot me by the shoulders and Sophia screamed, nearly knocking the guy with the gun. But as the smoke cleared, I came out clean. I wiped my mouth and stood up, rubbing my shirt from all of the dirt and grabbing the now bent bullet, showing the bullet to them upon my left palm.

"Y-you're..." the other guy who was still grabbing the other guy who shot me opened his jaw. All three of them held their jaw down, gasping for air. I only rolled my eyes as if this wasn't normal, which it was.

"I'm not dead, weirdos. Can we go now?" I snarled sending the three scared and surprised grown adults in a state of shock and fear. I tossed the bullet at the forehead of the guy who shot me, "Here, you got your bullet back," I crossed my arms.

"So-so you're...an...experiment?" the other guy asked, still holding his position while still his arms around the guy who shot me.

"Name's Jack," I held my arm ahead, waiting for a handshake. Sophia was quick to recover and motioned the two shocked guys to shake my hands, though shakingly moving their hands to me. Sophia punched the guy who shot me on his left shoulder.

"M-mine's Derick Farine," the guy who tried to stop the other guy that shot me said, shaking his hands worryingly as if I would kill him in an instant.

"I won't bite, man," I smiled and moved on to the guy who shot me.

"M-mine's John McGreggory...and nice...an immortal teenager, on our hands. Heh-heh, sorry for shooting you kid, I just wanted to know if it's true. Besides, we've got medical kit and I only shot you on the shoulder. We'll by the looks of it, I guess, we don't need it..." John shakily shook my hand, making a contented face while feeling a bit guilty. Sophia and Derick shot a snarled look at John's direction.

"Well, why did ya shoot me?" I made a scowl, running back at him.

"Y-you weren't wearing a suit, so I thought you were a Horde that followed us. But a Horde would've died anyway if I shot him. So, no hard feelings," John said, putting his hand behind his back, feeling sheepishly guilty.

"Next time, don't make anymore hyperbole accusations like that, 'kay, John," I smiled sarcastically while turning around to find myself in an empty bar. After Sophia punched John on the lower jaw, I finally had the courage to speak, "Who are you guys?"

John spoke up quickly before Derick could adjust his jaw to speak, "We are the French Resistance, the Paris Branch Group 3," John spoke in a meaningful expression.

I stared at his expression while tilting my head, "You guys are the only ones left in Paris?"

John raised an eyebrow, "Uh, no. Like I said, we are Group 3. There are about 6 groups of the Paris branch scattered all around the north, west, and east side of the city. The 7th and 8th died from the radiation in the south side. It was sad, but we manage."

"Oh, I met one of you guys somewhere near the Le Bonne Restauration," Sophia interrupted.

"That was probably Group 5. Say, what city branch are ya from little girl," John snickered while Sophia glared an eye at him.

"It's Sophia, idiot. And call me that again or shoot Jack again, and I will personally slit your throat," Sophia conspicuously jabbed a finger in front of John's face causing tension between the two. I glared at John also, not sure if he could be trusted or not.

"Just answer my question-"

"Versailles Branch, a few miles west-southwest of Paris," Sophia interjected, glaring an immediate stare at him while John smiled, enjoying all this. Derick and I rolled our eyes, disgusted.

"Anyway, sweaty, about him. Why are you here kid, or should I say yoda or something," John chuckled at my direction. Immediately, Sophia punched John right in the nose, while John just held back covering his bloody nose.

"Thanks, Sophia," I smiled as so does Derick.

"He can be such an asshole sometimes. Nice meeting you kid," Derick smiled and patted my back. Sophia and John dared to make a staring contest but soon died down as Derick spoke clearly, and filled with leadership.

"Now, straight to business..." Derick glared at all of us as he dragged his gun against his chest, "Since we have guest in our hands, we will have to maneuver the plan." Derick walked across the room filled with broken chairs and tables to the middle of the room with a very large wooden table and a large 32-48 in. street map of Paris. Derick pulled out his pencil from his pocket and draw a line through a street.

"We are now at the Dispensaire Saint Luc Hospital at the Rue Championnet Street. We were about to drive through the Theatre Pixel building, or what's left of it, until Jack and Sophia showed up. Now, we have to go here as a check point..." Derick circled the building called Cie Remue Menage and dot our destination. He opened his mouth and continued out destined plan, "And then we can cross the street and enter the Theatre Pixel complex right over here." Derick took a large inhale, glad about his new drawn up plan.

"Why do you guys need to go there?" I asked raising an eyebrow. John was about to intervene and open his mouth but Derick put a hand against his chest and mentally told him to just shut up. Derick spoke again, answering my question politely instead of whatever John was about to say.

"We're running out of supplies, and we need to loot more buildings that hasn't been destroyed yet," Derick said, crossing his arms proudly.

"Uh, we were just getting some supplies, too. Maybe we can team up?" Sophia asked, somewhat staring at him too long.

"Good, we could use some experienced fighters around for a change, right John?" Derick gleed at John with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't let that bitch get to me, again. My face hurts like hell, now!" John rubbed his jaw.

"You asked for it, anyway," Sophia and I both said in unison, but Derick broke off the fight before it could continue.

"Right, now, we have more things on our hands, like helping the others outside."

We quickly scurried to grab our guns and followed Derick, whom seemed to be the leader of the Group, lead us through the ruckus. We all hid behind a rusted car set on fire. I held my gun against my chest, peering to the side of the car, waiting for Derick to give us a clear. The smoke and smog was everywhere, giving us only a few yards of visibility. We had to rely on Derick's expertise and our good sense of hearing to surpass this. We quickly followed Derick through a set of rusted cars as the smoke cleared. Seriously, what happened here while we were gone for like only twenty minutes. I quickly dodged a bunch of rubble and dead bodies that stayed down. Vegetation was everywhere, like a concrete jungle, so we have to move quickly and fast without rustling the grass blades and the vines. We finally moved past through about five cars before we have anything to do.

"Oh...no," I heard Derick whispred through the smoke and tall grass that reached through my chest. We quickly followed Derick's voice and found ourselves in a midst of a dead body with a suit still on. Sophia quickly set her finger on his throat to check his pulse.

"Slow, must be turning into a Horde," Sophia whispered quietly, but we all heard it. We all set our heads down in mournful. He was one of the guys who defended us, one of the French Resistance. I hadn't met him yet , but if I had, I would've felt really mourned with memories passing through my head right now. John and Sophia were quick to respond and nudged Derick and I to move forward. I was surprised they were taking all of this in so fast, but we were not alone. We are in an open area, too insecure for us to be here too long. We had to keep moving before anyone else becomes a victim.

We entered through the theater fast and quiet. I guessed that the smoke and vegetation was so thick that the Hordes didn't hear or saw either one of us, so I stood my ground. I stood in front of a blue-but rusted garage door with a broken wooden dark brown door right in front of me. I looked up to find the second story filled with debris and vines while the rest were topped. To my right was one more blue garage hanger and a small metal fence post that was already so rusted and filled with vegetation that it was unrecognizable. The symbol of the broken door said 21 which was probably an address code or something. Derick walked inside first, holding his gun forward and forgetting about his dead companion. John was quick to follow and also acted more like Derick for awhile, quick confident, and kept his priorities straight. Sophia and I followed lastly, still a bit twitchy with a dead friend of ours. We kept a bit distant from each other as we walked towards the unknown dark void we just entered. It was so dark and eerie, like a ghost just claimed this as home. It might as well be with so many dead bodies filling the dark room.

We followed Derick through a room, which was probably the office, and found ourselves surrounded by files, clipboards, stamped envelopes, and pictures and notes filed across the walls and floors and tables. Since we relied on little light, the notes were too dark to read. Derick flickered his flashlight on, showing us secrets we shouldn't have seen. Around us, maps, labels, notes, envelopes, papers, files, all secret government files in German where everywhere. All of these were top secret files, and in German, which was surprising to us. And conspicuous to all of this, a large map stood in front of us, smack in the middle of the room, showing a large section of eastern Germany and red markings in German. But it was all too familiar: The Fourth Reich. Around the large section was red circles indicating followers of the Fourth Reich, all around Europe. And what's even more surprising, the city of Paris was circled, too. And we were in it. We were in the midst of the Fourth Reich followers.

And the next thing we knew, the door was slammed shut and a 'click' from our ears indicate the door was locked, trapping us here forever...

**Author's Note: The first few chapters will be just character buildup and such. Enjoy...**


End file.
